& Juliet: I Don’t Really Want It That Way by Katelyn Keyes

Out of all the musicals I’ve seen, I feel that & Juliet is a tough one to find my opinion on. Did it have a powerful impact that left me changed? Not really. Did it have breathtaking dancing, Oscar-worthy acting, or astounding songs? Not really. But, did I have fun? Absolutely. 

I began to get a sense for the fun when it opened with a jazzy preshow, where some of the actors come onstage before the official start to dance and liven up the audience. The dancers seemed to be quite talented, and that raised my hopes for the show itself, but sadly, there was no big dance number that showed off the amount of talent in this ensemble. By that beginning, and the general hip-hop vibe of the show, I had thought that it would be a lot more dance-heavy. The dancing that was there wasn’t bad by any means; in “Blow” there was some large-scale choreography to emulate a club, and the ensemble proved to be effective backup dancers in “Problem/Can’t Feel My Face.” But if the dancing had been more emphasized instead of simply a supplement it would have taken this show to the next level. 

Acting-wise, the performance that stuck out to me was Teal Wicks as Anne Hathaway, Shakespeare’s wife. Her comedic timing was impeccable and she had this “fun mom” air about her throughout the show that made her even more hilarious. Because she is the one who changes the original Romeo and Juliet, Anne is the catalyst in this story, and Wicks successfully brought the audience along on her journey, laughing all the way. 

On a more serious note, Kathryn Allison, who plays Angelique, nailed the nuance amidst the turmoil her character experiences. In her biggest monologue of the show, about halfway through Act 2, where she lets her romantic interest know exactly how she feels, she spoke quickly and passionately, but still perfectly understandable, and once she finished, she earned some well-deserved applause. Allison was able to portray anger, sadness, longing, and confidence all in one monologue as her character reaches a turning point in the story, and this showcase of diction as well as inflection cemented her as one of the greats in this show. 

Now for the singing, and this is where the show’s namesake, Juliet, really gets her chance to shine. Rachel Simone Webb played Juliet, and she brought an extremely powerful voice to an extremely powerful character. Every time she sang, in “Roar” especially but really in every song, she owned the stage. Her voice rang through every inch of the theater and sent exactly the empowering message the show aspires to hear. 

As a whole, the only real issue the show had with singing was Staying. On. The. Beat. I wasn’t sure if I was going crazy after the first couple songs, but my friends heard it too. Not every song, but more than a few of them were just a little bit ahead or a little bit behind, which completely took away from their effect. In fact, what was in my opinion the best part of the show, “Problem/Can’t Feel My Face”, was only my favorite because they finally managed to hit the beat exactly. And while it was amazing to listen to, I can’t help but feel sad that the whole show had the potential to be that outstanding but fell short. 

All in all, & Juliet has some room for improvement, and if you’re a lover of traditional theater I might stay away from this one, but I have to say, dancing in the audience as confetti rained down and the cast launched into one more chorus is an experience I won’t soon forget.